A large number of cytokines participate in the inflammatory response, including interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL6, IL-8 and TNF-α. Overproduction of cytokines such as IL-1 and TNF-α are implicated in a wide variety of diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, vasculitis, multiple sclerosis, endotoxin shock, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, and congestive heart failure, among others.
Evidence in human patients indicates that protein antagonists of cytokines are effective in treating chronic inflammatory diseases. International patent application WO2005/009973 discloses various pyrazole- and imidazole-based compounds or pharmaceutically acceptable derivatives thereof that have cytokine inhibitory activity. It discloses such compounds can be used to treat conditions associated with p38 kinases, especially p38a and β kinases, including asthma, allergies and adult respiratory distress syndrome. WO2005/009973 discloses 3-[5-amino-4-(3-cyanobenzoyl)-pyrazol-1-yl]-N-cyclopropyl-4-methylbenzamide as one such novel pyrazole-based p38 kinase inhibitor and describes processes for its preparation. 3-[5-Amino-4-(3-cyanobenzoyl)-pyrazol-1-yl]-N-cyclopropyl-4-methylbenzamide has the following chemical structure:

Acute exacerbations of inflammatory diseases are associated with increased mortality and impaired quality of life.
It has surprisingly been found that the dosage regimens of the present invention are particularly effective for treating acute exacerbations of inflammatory diseases.